The concept of a Switch version of Metroid Prime has taken another step out from the shadows of wishful thinking and into the bounds of becoming a distant possibility. This is thanks to rumors reaching us (via VGC) that Nintendo is looking to celebrate the Samus-powered shooter’s 20th anniversary with a Switch release in 2022.
Rumors have persisted since 2019 that the Metroid Prime trilogy would be Switch-bound. Back in July, VentureBeat’s Jeff Grub claimed that Nintendo were ready to roll out the three games as an HD trilogy, and were just waiting for the right time to do so. Then last week, another Nintendo insider, Emily Rogers, said “Last I heard, Nintendo was busy working on Metroid Prime 1 to celebrate the game’s 20th anniversary in 2022. I’m not sure if we’re getting a ‘trilogy’ or just a re-release of the first game. I’m leaning toward the latter, but I hope we get the former.” It would appear that after conducting his own investigation into the matter, Grub is in agreement.
Metroid Prime, the story so far…
Metroid Prime was first released in 2002 for the Nintendo Gamecube, which was followed by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes in 2004. A third game, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, was released in 2007 for the Wii. The first two games were updated with motion controls in 2009 and bundled with the third to form the Wii’s Metroid Prime Trilogy. Metroid Prime 4 was annouced in 2017 and in 2019 it was announced that series creator Retro Studios would be taking over development of the game from Bandai Namco. This was good news, but very little about Metroid Prime 4 has been heard since
Whatever the truth of Metroid Prime HD existing now or in the future, there is only a week to go until the very real Metroid Dread does release for the Switch. As much as we’d love to be playing a remastered 3D Metroid in 2022 (or indeed a fourth Prime game), a new 2D Metroid in 2021 is just as exciting a prospect. Hopefully we’ll get our hands on it soon to tell you what we think.
